Month: December 2017

It's hard to believe that another year has passed us by. As I did, last year, I'll be doing a series of Best Of lists for 2017, starting with this one. Others will roll out as I continue to see the remaining films that are still expanding out across the country. But, there are no... Continue Reading →

I'll be the one to say what no one else is willing to say: World War II movies are a dime a dozen. Okay, that might be a slight (and only slight) exaggeration, but every year, audiences are inundated with one World War II film after the next with almost all of them receiving nearly-unanimous... Continue Reading →

It seems odd to say it, but Molly's Game is the first directorial effort from longtime writer-producer Aaron Sorkin. Known for his sharp dialogue and boardroom thrillers, Sorkin makes the jump to directing to helm this film based on the book of the same name by the titular Molly Bloom. He does so with the... Continue Reading →

As of right now, Ridley Scott's All the Money in the World is best known as That Movie That Had Kevin Spacey In It But Doesn't, Anymore. Scott hopes to change that narrative and those efforts began with that very decision - the decision to completely remove Spacey from the finished film and replace him with Christopher... Continue Reading →

Alexander Payne's Downsizing made the list in my Ten Fourth-Quarter 2017 Films to be Excited About! column and it's taken me longer to see it than I would like, but here we are. Payne won me over with his excellent 2011 film The Descendants, starring George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, and Shailene Woodley. Two years later, he... Continue Reading →

Original US release date: December 15, 1989 Production budget: $7,500,000 Worldwide gross: $145,793,296 Here I am with another classic film that I had never seen before. It's been on my radar since . . . childhood, I guess? I've even retained Hans Zimmer's memorable theme in my head throughout all of these years. For those... Continue Reading →

Earlier this year, I went with my sister and brother-in-law to take my nieces to see the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus as it made its final rounds throughout America. A longstanding tradition dating back to the year 1919 (formally, but initiated long before that in the mid-1800s), much had changed for the... Continue Reading →

Believe it or not, I had never seen the first two Pitch Perfect films until last Sunday, when I did my appropriate homework in preparation for the release of this third entry in the series. I enjoyed them, finding the combination of irreverent humor and energetic musical performances to be quite infectious and endearing. The ongoing... Continue Reading →

Awards season rolls on and Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water has been near the top of my priority list for a while, now. Today is the first day it's made it within reasonable driving distance, so I ventured out to an old-school theater (not even stadium seating!) to catch the first showing and see... Continue Reading →